The present application relates generally to systems and methods for providing messages to a user of a telecommunications device.
It is generally well known that users of prescription drugs often forget to take their medication as prescribed. Studies show that medication non-compliance, defined as the failure to take drugs on time or in the dosages prescribed, is the cause of over 100,000 deaths annually in the United States and leads to billions of dollars of increased medical costs. A variety of systems and tools have evolved for reminding patients to take their medications, and once-popular medication reminder systems such as calendars and alarm clocks have yielded to technological innovation. Talking pillboxes, vibrating alarms, and similar gadgets are widely available and frequently used to ensure that medication is properly taken. As with their predecessors, however, these devices are easily forgotten, misplaced, or simply ignored.
More recently, the number of services offering the delivery of pre-scheduled reminders using voice-messaging systems has been steadily increasing. Often offered by pharmacies to regular customers, these services employ scheduling software and pre-recorded messages to provide medication reminders, known as courtesy calls, using customer information stored in electronic records. As currently implemented, however, such systems suffer a significant drawback because no contingency action is performed in the event that a call recipient fails to answer. In these instances, it may be desirable to alert a designated concerned party concerning the unsuccessful delivery of the medication reminder.
A second drawback to voice messaging systems is the long distance phone charges attendant to the operation of a courtesy call service. Where numerous customers are located outside the area of local phone coverage, as is frequently the case with, for example, mail order and online prescription services, the costs associated with delivering courtesy calls to distant customers may be prohibitively expensive. Although electronic mail is a cost-effective solution to long-distance telephone fees, the difficulty of verifying customer receipt of the communication makes it a less attractive alternative. Moreover, although the popularity of electronic mail has been growing rapidly, it has not yet found common use in many homes.